Diet Foods for Dogs

The K-9 Shop crew members.

BARK AND BITE: WHAT GOES INTO THE DIET OF MAN’S BEST FRIEND

By Darian Kukral

Cornucopia’s organic canned pet food.

Have you ever wondered what, or if any, nutrition really goes into your pet’s kibble? All kibble falls under U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulation, which states, “All animal foods must be safe to eat, produced under sanitary conditions, contain no harmful substances and be truthfully labeled.”

It turns out that the ingredients in kibble are processed together and cooked. According to the American Kennel Club, required ingredients include: protein sources (such as beef, poultry, fish, and eggs), grains, cereals, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

Some brands are heavy on carbohydrates or have low-quality ingredients and added sugar, which can harm pets if they consume too much.

Changing your pet’s daily diet can go a long way with their health. Whether it be an organic or raw diet, your pet will be thanking you from the inside and out.

The K-9 Shop in Lynbrook brands itself as all-natural and lives by the motto, “Real dogs eat raw.” From rabbit feet to kangaroo bark, The K-9 Shop makes a healthy diet for dogs possible.

“We’re raw and natural. We do a lot of different things because we don’t believe in kibble,” said Rober Tucker, one of the founders of The K-9 Shop. “We sell chicken, turkey, beef, rabbit, lamb, a lot of fishes and versatile products. What makes us different is that some of our products are locally sourced right here on Long Island.”

Tucker also emphasized the importance of knowing how to care for your dogs and how vital it is to start paying attention to their diets.

“Kibble was only created a couple hundred years ago as a convenience, just like McDonald’s was created as a convenience for us humans,” said Tucker. “Feeding your child McDonald’s every single day is like feeding your dog kibble every day. Soon, people recognize their dogs’ health issues and they come in here to get a more nutritious lifestyle for their dogs, and it gives them a longer, happier life with less health issues.”

According to Cornucopia, a Long Island-based organic pet food manufacturer, nutritious organic food is the correct way to feed your pet. They sell several products including their famous canned food diet, superfoods and even organic broccoli sprout powder.

All Cornucopia foods are certified USDA organic, except those containing fish.

“All kibble on the market right now is the equivalent to putting organic kale in the microwave for an hour,” said Kristina Broderick, co-owner of Cornucopia. “You’re just going to kill every raw vitamin, mineral and any good, nutritious aspect of organic kale. And that’s what happens when you feed your pet kibble, because of the extruding process and the heat when it goes into the granulator, it kills all the good live enzymes.”

The K-9 Shop is particular with the quality of ingredients that are in the dog food it sells.

“We only allow what dogs were meant to eat: no rice, no carbohydrates, no corn, no fillers, no preservatives, no potatoes. When you pick up a bag of kibble and you look at the ingredient label, it’s a mile long, but on ours, you may see one or two words,” said Tucker. “We have to look at the way it’s farmed, because to be organic, it has to be farmed organically as well.”

When thinking about your own diet, try to consider your pet’s health as well. Taking action in changing your pet’s diet could change their life.

“Eat how you would want your pet to eat and feed them as healthy as you feed yourself,” said Cornucopia co-owner Michele Broderick.

Organic frozen dog food from The K-9 Shop. Photos by Darian Kukral